UNDERSTANDING
STRESS

All
information in this article is for educational purposes only.It is not for the diagnosis, treatment,
prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

Stress is one of the
most often used words today.But
just what is stress, and exactly how does it affect us?Let us begin with the definition of
stress.

Stress is a response of the body to stimuli.Noise, heat or cold are not
stresses.They are stimuli.The response they cause in the body is
called stress.This means that if
your neighbor is playing his stereo at full volume, but you have an excellent
set of earplugs, there is no stress!There is stress only if you respond.The impact of any event or stimulus depends on how you
respond (or don't respond) to it.

On a more general
level, stress is the underlying response of an organism to its
environment.This is a most
important concept to understand, and it is the basis for the hair analysis
patterns that are revealed on the hair mineral tests.The minerals on the test have value in themselves.However, in addition, Dr. Paul Eck
figured out how they represent the responses of the body to stress of many
kinds in the environment.This is
a great secret and key to understanding hair mineral analysis by the method of
Dr. Paul Eck.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STRESSORS

External stress responses.Our bodies are continuously having to respond to the world around
us.This includes the ground we
walk upon, the outer temperature, wind, rain, snow, sounds, sights, people, and
hundreds of subtle factors such as smells, tension in the world, one’s
financial and social situations and more.

Internal stress. The body also must respond to changes in the internal environment of the body, such as
too much warmth or cold, hunger, thirst, diseases in the body, strain and
tension on muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints, the body’s position in space
and how gravity is affecting the body, and thousands of other parameters or
factors.The body must
continuously adjust the blood sugar level, the blood pressure level and the
levels of all the minerals, vitamins, hormones, and hundreds of other nutrients
and chemicals that we are made of.This is the continuously changing response to internal stress that keeps
us alive.An important principle is
that usually it is far easier to work with and control internal stress than it
is to control external forces.

THE BODY'S STRESS RESPONSE

Non-specific nature of the stress response. Dr. Hans Selye
discovered that the body’s overall response to stressors of all kinds is
similar.This means that the
body’s response to a loud noise, extreme cold, a bacterial infection, a toxic
metal, or worry can all cause the same stress response.It doesn't matter if the stressor comes
from within the body (bacteria) or from outside the body (noise, for
example).This is an important
principle of the General Adaptation Syndrome, which is what Dr. Selye called the way the body responds to stress.

The stages of stress. Dr. Selye divided the response into three stages: alarm, resistance and exhaustion.All organisms go through these three
stages of stress, which are followed by death.One can go through all three stages in minutes, or it can
take 100 years.The progression of
the stages of stress are mediated through the adrenal and thyroid glands.

Dr. Paul Eck realized
that he could identify these stages with fair accuracy using a hair mineral
analysis providing the hair sample is not washed at the laboratory.Knowing which stage of stress the body
is in is most helpful to recommend diets, nutritional supplements and other
procedures to gently and safely move the body to a healthier stage of
stress.With a hair mineral
analysis, this is done with mathematical accuracy.

Dr. Eck's research on
hair analysis was greatly assisted by incorporating the stress theory into the
interpretation of the hair analysis.Knowing the stage of stress, one knows a lot about how a body is
functioning.This allows one to
move beyond symptoms and correct underlying body chemistry.

Dr.
Eck discovered the alarm stage of stress roughly correlates with fast
oxidation.The resistance stage of
stress roughly corresponds to a mixed oxidation pattern.It may also correlate with a fast
oxidation pattern with a low sodium/potassium ratio.The exhaustion stage of stress roughly corresponds to a very
slow oxidation rate.

Mineral
levels change in accord with the stage of stress.For instance, in the alarm stage, sodium rises.As the resistance stage begins, sodium
begins to drop.It continues even
lower in the exhaustion stage.One
can determine the stage of stress with numerical accuracy from the tissue
mineral levels and ratios.

External
stressors include family problems, financial struggles, school difficulties,
interpersonal problems, extreme heat or cold, polluted air and water, improper
diet, low-quality food, toxic medications, drugs and other poisons, and many
other factors that appear 'external' to us.The internal and the external factors of stress combine to
create stress responses.

Noise
can be a potent stressor.This
includes televisions, radios and even too much or too loud talking.The presence of other people,
especially for babies and children, can be stressful.Some
people are affected by even more subtle factors such as electromagnetic waves,
colors, tone of voice, and even a person's 'aura'.We have all heard the phrase, "there was so much anger
in the room you could cut it with a knife".

There
are even spiritual stressors.Just
telling the truth, or speaking up to a friend, can cause much stress.For innocent children, hearing false
statements by parents like "you are a bad child" can be a horrendous
stress.

WHO IS UNDER STRESS?

Everyone
must respond to stress all of the time.If one is healthy, it means that one can cope and respond adequately to
our internal and our external environments.

As the body weakens,
or if stress is excessive, the body’s ability to respond correctly and
appropriately to stress begins to decline.This can occur at any age.In fact, it usually begins shortly after birth in some ways,
because babies today are born quite deficient in some essential nutrients such
as zinc.They are also often born
with too much copper, lead, aluminum, and other toxic metals and toxic
chemicals in their bodies due to these excesses in their mothers.This is one important cause for
infections, ADD, ADHD, other learning and developmental problems of infants and
young children.

STRESS AND ENERGY

Each
of the stages of stress is a lower energy state.The goal of a nutritional balancing
program is to move the body from a lower energy and less healthful stage of
stress to a more healthful stage of stress.

Another
principle of stress is that coping or adapting to stress uses up energy.When energy improves on a nutrition
program, it is because there is less biochemical stress on the body, and thus
more adaptive energy is available.This is an important principle that helps explain 'healing reactions',
and the success of nutritional balancing programs.

THE IDEAL STRESS RESPONSE

The
ideal stress response is a minimally upsetting response.On a hair analysis it would be to
maintain a balanced oxidation rate. To do this one must be able to absorb or "digest"
every experience without reacting to it.This can only occur if one is not attached to any physical or emotional
state or condition, and if the body is quite healthy.Of course, some types of stressors require a vigorous
response, but even here, the most healthful response would be one that upsets
the status quo of the body the least.

Emotional detachment.When an emotional upset occurs the body
and mind should be able to handle it without becoming too unhappy, angry or
upset.In philosophy, this is
often called a state of 'emotional detachment', or “living in the world, but
not being of the world”.

One
can assist the body and mind to respond appropriately to all types of stress by
balancing and strengthening body chemistry.This can help one to cope with everything from invading
bacteria or viruses, to negative thoughts, fearful emotions and physical,
social or financial hardship.An
important principle of nutritional balancing science is that reducing
the internal stress on the body, one can handle or digest more external stress.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STRESS

Some people are under
the misconception that all stress is bad.Nothing could be further from the truth.Dr. Hans Selye, who originated the
stress theory of disease, wrote a book entitled Stress Without Distress.He explained that certain kinds of
stress are essential for health.These range from physical exercise which keeps our bones and muscles
strong, to mental stress or stimulation which keeps us mentally alert, and may
help avoid senility.

There are many other
types of positive or beneficial stressors.In fact, healing therapies including nutritional balancing
science sometimes intentionally apply a 'positive stressor' to the client in
order to assist healing.The
'good' stressor may be a chiropractic adjustment, a massage, a new diet,
vitamin supplements or spoken words.These may be felt at first as stressful.However, if the act or information is applied correctly, it
results in a positive or healing change in the body.

THE INDIVIDUALITY OF STRESS

Because stress is a
response that depends on how one reacts, the same event may cause stress in one
person, but cause no stress in another.For example, one person may adore being around cats, while another
person is allergic to cat hair and feels miserable around cats.

This simplistic
example illustrates the principle that the stress response is individual,
depending on what each person responds to.One's physical or psychological makeup can protect or make
one vulnerable to particular events.Of course, some stimuli affect everyone, such as starvation, atomic
bombs, or cyanide poisoning.However, individual variation exists to some extent even in these
instances.In a sense, we define
ourselves by what we respond to: whether it be famine in Ethiopia, a stock
market dip, sports scores, a bird singing, a sunny day, etc.Many times in order to achieve health
and happiness, what must change are the events that we respond to.

We tend to be shaped
or influenced heavily by those stimuli or stressors to which we respond.The person who responds to the TV news
tends to be shaped by that stimulus.Another is more shaped by what his friends tell him.Becoming a mature person involves
finding those situations which are healthful stressors for us, even though they
may not be ideal for another.Much
disease and unhappiness is produced because we either conform to or rebel
against the dictates of parents and teachers as to how and to what we ought to
respond.

SPIRITUAL STRESS

A type of stress that
is not often discussed is what may be called spiritual stress.A
spiritual stressor is one that causes us to change or adapt in a way that
improves one’s character, causes mental or spiritual development, or perhaps
makes one a nicer or more aware person.

For example, some
people respond to truth.They seek
the truth in their activities, and they guide their life by it as much as
possible.Responding to the truth
is a powerful positive stressor.It can certainly cause some upset, as people and events are revealed for
what they really are.But it leads
to an enhancement and strengthening of character as long as one seeks and
follows what is revealed as the truth.

Many religions
recommend techniques such as prayer and meditation. If practiced correctly,
these activities may also act as stressors that increase self-discipline,
awareness and receptiveness to the truth.

Another spiritual
stressor is taking full and complete responsibility for all one’s actions,
words, and thoughts.This means
responding to one’s conscience, and doing what is correct in every situation no
matter what the consequences.This
is an important spiritual stressor for some people that also builds character
and leads to mental and spiritual development in some people. Of course, one
must be clear about what is right, because otherwise one may make errors of
judgment and follow paths that are not healthful at all.

Harmful spiritual stressors
are often called temptations or sins in some circles.They would include doing what is
expedient or what 'feels good in the moment' rather than what is right or
good.Another is making a decision
to please others, no matter what the cost to you and your health.Others are to eat without thought of
your health, to spend money without thought of the consequences, and there are
others, of course.

SUMMARY

Stress is usually not
due to events only, but to one’s response to events.Many responses are conditioned.This is why you may feel trapped by stress. By reducing
internal stressors (imbalances inside the body and mind) one will be more able
to handle all kinds of stress that comes from outside

One tends to become like
that to which one responds.Anyone
can choose to respond to 'positive' physical, emotional and spiritual stressors
that have powerful beneficial effects on both mind and body.

All
information in this article is for educational purposes only.It is not for the diagnosis, treatment,
prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.